Episode 1408 - 11 Chefs Compete
The eighth episode of Season 14 of Hell’s Kitchen aired on Fox, on April 21, 2015. On that episode, alcohol was the main ingredient, a sudden injury forced one chef to leave the competition, and a gastropub dinner service had one team fall apart. Intro While going back to the dorms, Meghan believed that with Sarah gone, the dead weight from the red team was as well, and felt that they would be stronger without the crazies. Back in the dorms, Josh told Christine that he was glad she survived as he needed a pretty girl to stick around, the latter realized that she survived her third nomination, and decided to make sure it would not happen again, before telling Josh and Randy that she did not want to be nominated ever again. Team Challenge The next day, both teams went downstairs, and Ramsay asked the red team if they were ready for redemption. Then, Ramsay explained that alcohol could really enhance a dish if used correctly, and introduced the Alcohol Challenge. Each team would cook with three different types of alcohol, which were beer, wine, and liquor, but Michelle was concerned as she has only been legally drinking for a year and a half, and had no long-term experience compared to the rest of the chefs. After, Ramsay revealed that they could cook any dish they would like, before revealing the bartenders they would have to order the alcohol from. The first was John Ratzenberger from “Cheers”, and Randy was excited to see him as he was a big fan of the show. Then, Ramsay revealed that Marino would be the second bartender due to his background as a sommelier, though Adam was more surprised that Ramsay introduced the latter in a nice regard. After both teams discussed what type of alcohol they would be cooking with, they were given 45 minutes to cook their dishes. The chefs immediately went to the bar to sample the different alcohol to use, but T was not in the mood to drink as it was too early in the morning. Ratzenberger offered to let someone speak to him as a bartender, but Michelle said that she needed to cook her dish, and decided to do a chocolate stout soufflé as she knew nobody else would do it. Alison and T found good ideas for their dishes, and Meghan knew what she was doing already as it never failed her before. In the blue kitchen, Randy told Nick what his duck dish would be, and the latter decided to do a dessert, before declaring that he had to step up after his poor performance during the previous challenge. Despite not drinking for a long time, Josh said that he liked cooking with alcohol, and that he wanted to win it for the blue team. With fifteen minutes remaining, Michelle hoped that she would compete first as she did not want her soufflé to drop, and in the blue kitchen, Adam became the unofficial taster as his teammates kept asking him for his opinion. Eventually, the chefs got their dishes cooked and plated in time. Marino and Ratzenberger served as guest judges, and announced that they would only be tasting one dish from each team based on the alcohol used. With only 90 seconds to decide, both teams tasted each other’s food to decide their representatives, and while Bret found it difficult not to present his dish, he allowed Josh to present his as the latter was very confident in it. Every dish would be judged on a scale of 1-5, and the team that scored the most points would win the challenge. On the first round, Michelle presented her bittersweet chocolate stout soufflé with a berry stout sauce, and vanilla whipped cream. The judges called it a bold move from Michelle to serve a soufflé, and while it was praised for being a good breakfast dish along with the great combination of the bitterness and sweetness, Ratzenberger found the chocolate to be too powdery, much to her dismay as she did not use any powder. Despite that, she scored 11 points. After, Nick’s sweet potato doughnut tossed in a candied bacon crumble and stout caramel sauce was praised for looking fantastic and having a well-balanced flavor, but criticized for having a heavy texture. So, he scored 10 points, the red team led 11-10, and while Nick gave props to Michelle for doing a soufflé, he felt that his dish was a little more inventive. On the second round, Alison’s ribeye and port wine sauce scored 10 points as Ramsay felt that the dish needed a little more finesse, while Adam’s lamb with port wine and pear reduction was praised for the combination, but Marino felt that the reduction would have worked better with a dessert. So, Adam scored 10 points as well, and the score was 21-20 for the red team. On the final round, Josh and Meghan competed, and while Josh knew that the latter had some amazing dishes since the beginning of the competition, he knew that he had to step up. Meghan’s pan-seared duck breast and a calvados baked apple brandy gastric was praised for its stunning presentation, with T being very confident about their chances, but Marino felt that it was missing some acidity, Ramsay said that the calvados was raw, and she scored 9 points. After, Josh presented his bourbon mushroom sauce with a grilled pork and root vegetable, it was praised for its great presentation, but Marino criticized the pork for being dry. Despite that, Josh scored 11 points, the blue team won the challenge 31-30, and Bret rubbed in the fact that the women lost another challenge. After Ratzenberger and Marino left, Ramsay congratulated Josh for being the hero of the day for the blue team, and welcomed him back. Reward The blue team was rewarded with a trip to the Moonlight Rollerway for a roller skate experience, lunch at the Golden Road Brewery, and Randy was excited that he would get to do some beer tasting. Josh was proud that he redeemed himself, and called himself the anchor that pulled through another blue team victory. During the reward, the men put on some costumes provided at the Rollerway, Bret said that they looked cute before falling over, and Josh was seen skating perfectly as he used to figure skate when he was three years old, with Nick comparing him to Elton John. Later, the blue team went to the Golden Road Brewery, and Randy was excited to eat some beer food over some fancy food. Then, Sous Chef James joined the men for lunch, and told them that he was proud of them for doing well so far. After, the men toasted to their third consecutive challenge victory. Punishment The red team was punished by participating in laundry day, which included ironing, starching, folding, steaming the glassware, and polishing the silverware. Back in the dorms, Michelle was frustrated that they lost by one point, especially since she had the best dish of the team, before saying that they had to knock out the boys. During the punishment, Michelle and Alison got into a minor argument over how to steam the tablecloths, and T calmed her down, before comparing her to a Chihuahua, and mimicking one. However, Michelle was annoyed by that, and said that if her teammates wanted to make fun of her due to being the youngest chef there, then they could go fuck themselves. Bret’s exit The next day, both teams went downstairs to prep for service, and Bret told the men that he wanted a nice clean service. Then, Bret to go to the bathroom, while the women and Sous Chef Andi agreed to take the blue team down. As prep continued, the blue team and Sous Chef James wondered where Bret was, and Josh decided to look for him. In the bathroom, Bret started to feel immense pain and groaned, which Christine heard from the red kitchen. Then, Christine found Bret leaning against the wall in the back hallway, asked if he was okay, and Bret asked for a medic, before revealing that he was suffering from a severe flare up on a previously diagnosed slipped disc. Christine informed the men about Bret’s situation, the latter explained his condition to his teammates, and said that it happened when he was taking a shit. The blue team was shocked by that news, and Nick called getting pain from taking a shit something you only see in a horror movie. Milly and Josh carried Bret to the dorms, Milly said that the latter was one of the strongest chefs on the blue team, and told him to take his time as they would back him up regardless. In the bedroom, Bret lied down on the floor, and after, Josh and Milly left to continue prepping. Josh told Bret to holler if he needed anything, with the latter apologizing for his condition. When he entered the kitchen, Ramsay noticed that Bret was not there, and Sous Chef James revealed him his condition. So, Ramsay went to the dorms to find Bret, the latter revealed that he had a slipped disc pinching on his sciatic nerve, and while Ramsay was disappointed by the news, he told him that despite doing bloody well in the competition, he could not continue competing as it could lead to permanent damage to his back. Then, Ramsay told Bret that his family would be very proud of him, and that he needed to think only about himself, before shaking his hand goodbye and urging him to get better. During his exit interview, Bret was extremely upset about leaving like that, but refused to stop what he was doing as he had a lot of support. Before service When both teams were lined up, Ramsay revealed that Bret would not be competing any longer, and while everybody was heartbroken by that news, Nick felt that it was a blessing in disguise as he was one person closer to win. After, Ramsay revealed that it was gastropub night, there would be a completely new menu, and reminded the chefs that they would each be running their own station without support. He also revealed that he would be opening the chefs tables, with the blue team serving Fred Willard, and the red team serving Jaleel White, with T mimicking Urkel’s famous “Did I do that?” quote. After, Ramsay asked Marino to open Hell’s Kitchen for gastropub night. Dinner Service In addition to the chefs tables, the Far East Movement was in attendance, and the menu featured fish & chips, Kobe beef burger, and an appetizer of beer-steamed razor clams served tableside by Meghan and Milly. Josh knew that they all had to step their game up after Bret's departure, but while Randy was ready to walk with his scallops, Josh did not communicate with him. So, Randy sent his scallops even though Josh was not ready, and Ramsay warned them that if the risotto would not arrive to the pass in the following 30 seconds, they would have to start over. In the red kitchen, Christine communicated a lot with T on appetizers as she wanted to get off to a strong start, deemed that her head was in the game, and her mussels were accepted. In the blue kitchen, Josh's risotto was accepted in time, and the men were ready to move onto entrées. However, while Adam said that he needed eight more minutes on his New York striploin, Ramsay revealed that Randy’s fish & chips were ready, and lectured the two of them to be more organized, before calling them fucking useless. In the red kitchen, when Ramsay called the next order, Christine was confused on whether or not a risotto was on order, which T said was because she was overwhelmed. Then, Christine announced that she needed two more minutes on her mussels, T said that the hand holding was over, and Ramsay urged her to speed up. One hour into service, Randy sent burnt fish & chips, Ramsay demanded to know what was going on, and despite Adam promising that they would turn it around, Randy knew that he and the latter were screwing each other up. Then, Ramsay went to the back hallway with Adam and Randy, berated them for trading off inconsistency, and they promised to bring it back around. Then, the VIPs arrived at the chefs tables. In the red kitchen, Alison gave Michelle her lamb to send to the pass, but while the latter saw that it was raw, Ramsay forced her to send it. Indeed, Ramsay saw that it was raw, lectured Michelle that she should have said something and Alison that she forced the youngest chef to send raw lamb, and an annoyed T said that even Ray Charles could see that it was raw. Fortunately, Alison’s refire was accepted, and entrées from the red kitchen were being sent out at an appropriate pace. In the blue kitchen, Randy was still struggling on the fish & chips refire, and despite saying that he had it, Milly knew that he did not. Despite that, Randy’s refire was accepted, and entrées were being sent out to the customers. In the red kitchen, White’s table received their entrées, Michelle said that she was about to walk with her garnishes and felt that the garnish station was perfect for her as she wanted to be known as a leader. However, nobody responded to Michelle’s directions until the second time, but she said that she was glad Meghan was in the dining room as she herself wanted to shine, and wanted to prove that the red team did not need Meghan in the kitchen to succeed. However, T continued to compare Michelle to a Chihuahua when the latter continued to bark out orders. Two hours into service, the men were working on Willards’ table, and Josh urged the men to fucking speed it up for Bret, though Adam was concerned as he had no idea what Josh’s direction would be when he was riled up. Then, Adam sent overcooked lamb, he got embarrassed as he was better than that, and Ramsay blamed Randy and Josh for watching him sink. Then, Randy was about to walk with his dishes until Josh stopped him as Adam was not ready with his meat, but eventually, the latter was ready. However, Adam’s lamb was raw, much to his dismay as he kept sending out poor food, and Randy’s fish & chips were too soggy. Then, Ramsay ordered the men to go to the red kitchen, told the red team that it has been the worst service for the blue team, asked the women to take over the blue kitchen, and kicked the men out of the kitchen, before berating Josh for watching the disaster unfold instead of helping. On the patio, Josh reminded Adam how he and Randy did not communicate at all, Adam admitted that he was out of character, and Randy pointed out that the deep-fried food needed to be sent immediately. In the blue kitchen, the red team were sending out the blue team’s entrées to Willard's and the rest of the blue diners. T admitted how sweet it was to take over the nasty ass blue kitchen, and completed their service. Post-mortem On the patio, Randy admitted that he did not have any words to describe what happened, but Adam knew that it was a loss of communication from the start, and that they could not bounce back from it. While Josh pointed out that communication was needed to win services, Nick reminded that Ramsay was not happy that Josh stood by and did nothing to help. However, Josh told Nick to relax, and the latter was annoyed by it and accused him of living in Josh planet. Milly considered Adam and Randy as they were the ones that sunk the service, and after, Josh left the conversation after he felt it was a unanimous decision. However, Adam considered Josh for being scattered, which Nick agreed with as he felt he was all over the place. Elimination Nick announced Randy as the blue team’s first nominee for elimination, and Adam as the second. Both of them were called down, and while Ramsay agreed with that decision, he also called Josh down afterwards. During their pleas, Josh said that he was the leader of the blue kitchen, that he tried to be vocal, and that he did not notice that the meat station was faltering, but that annoyed Ramsay as Josh was standing next to Adam when it happened. Then, Ramsay called Adam’s performance a disaster, but the latter called it a fluke, and said that he had a lot more to prove to him and himself, but Ramsay asked how his constant mistakes were supposed to be a fluke. After, Ramsay reminded Randy how he screwed up on fish & chips and burgers, and despite the latter said that he was very disciplined and that he wanted to learn more, Ramsay warned him that he was running out of time. In the end, Adam was eliminated for sinking the kitchen and failing to bounce back. During his exit interview, Adam admitted that he had a chance to be the hero, but did not deliver on Ramsay’s or his own expectations. After Adam left, Ramsay reminded the chefs that he expected them to bounce back from their mistakes, as their future in Hell’s Kitchen depended on it. While being dismissed, Milly said that the blue team lost two of their strongest cooks, that they were down to a four-man team, and knew that he had to step it up as he was the strongest of those four. Then, Alison was still embarrassed over making stupid mistakes, and realized that she could not keep doing that as there was no more room for error any longer, and Josh realized that he did not give the perfection Ramsay wanted, but still wanted to prove him that he could become his next head chef. Ramsay's comment: "Bret's competition may have ended in the bathroom today, but it was Adam's failure on the meat station that flushed his dream down the toilet." Adam received the coat hanging and picture burning sequence, but Bret did not. Category:Episodes Category:Season 14